


The Want of Human Desire

by finch (afinch)



Category: Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-07
Updated: 2008-12-07
Packaged: 2018-01-01 18:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afinch/pseuds/finch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A light touch of dark issues; A forbidden relationship;  A love story told in snapshots</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Want of Human Desire

**Author's Note:**

> Written for astoreen in the Yuletide 2008 Challenge

Katherine Watson, the most amazing woman Giselle had ever met, had a fiancé. And Giselle, not amazing in any sense of the word, thought she might be pregnant with Bill Dunbar's child. Bill had dragged her away from Katherine and her fiancé; the next day he handed her an envelope with 10 twenty dollar bills in it and a slip of paper with a phone number. No name.

She was surprised when she called to hear the voice of the choir director. Hanging up the phone, she didn't hesitate before ringing up Katherine.

"Katherine Watson."

"Miss Watson?" she clutched the phone tightly in her hand, coiling the cord around her fingers. "I need- I mean, I need-"

"Giselle?"

She swallowed, nodding, "Yes. I- can I meet you? Privately?"

"Come to the house, I'm the only one here."

Twenty minutes later she was standing in a tiny kitchen, clutching the wad of money, unable to say what it was for. But Katherine Watson wasn't the most amazing woman for nothing; she took the phone number and frowned, "Who does it connect to?"

"Mrs. Canton."

"Let me ring a friend."

Giselle nodded and Katherine dialed. "Amanda?"

*

"Miss Watson?"

She had nowhere else to go after, except Katherine Watson's. Showing up unannounced probably wasn't the best idea. Katherine looked like hell.

"I'm sorry. I should leave and ... go ..."

"Stay." Katherine said softly, grabbing Giselle's arm. "It's fine, stay."

She did nothing but cry, and Katherine held her.

The kiss was unexpected, light, soft, on her cheek. "You'll be fine," Katherine said. "You'll be fine."

Somehow Giselle wasn't so sure.

The next day she found herself still at Katherine's, twisted up on the sofa.

"Are you in pain?"

Giselle shook her head. "I'm fine. Just bleeding a lot."

Katherine nodded. "I'll make tea."

She was everything Giselle could never be. Smart, and resourceful, and knew exactly where to go for anything. And didn't land herself into trouble. At least not that Giselle could see.

"What about you?" she asked, taking the offered cup of tea.

"I was one of the lucky ones," Katherine said, a lost look on her face. "It was '47 and I was trying to get lost in anything after the war. There was a fling. He left town. I missed two periods." She sighed, "But I was one of the lucky ones. I miscarried before ... well, before."

She looked so sad, like she would have liked to not miscarry. Like she would have liked a child, even an illegitimate child. Giselle leaned up, returned the kiss.

That likely hadn't been the best idea either.

*

Katherine Watson knew how to pleasure a woman. It was March, and that fact still astounded Giselle. They couldn't meet in hotels or at Giselle's, so they met at Katherine's, Giselle learning to scale the back trellis to Katherine's window.

They lay on disgustingly patterned sheets, with disgusting pictures to match. Naked. Exposed.

"They didn't want you to have a hot plate?" Giselle couldn't believe it. No hot plates? She could barely go two days without a hot plate.

"Shhh," Katherine said. "I thought we agreed, no talking."

Giselle traced her fingers lightly up Katherine's thigh. "I happen to like talking."

"They're not all bad," is what Katherine meant to say. Somehow it came out, "Please keep going."

"With what?" Giselle teased. Her fingers moved quickly, gently as she talked, "I suppose so. They did let the school nurse and a teacher ..."

"Giselle!"

She stopped speaking then, concentrating only on her fingers and where they'd been placed when Katherine spoke out.

"Say it again," she whispered, pressing her fingers into soft flesh.

"Giselle," Katherine moaned. "A school nurse and a teacher is different than a teacher and a - oh. Ohhhh."

"You're right," Giselle whispered softly. "Not talking is much better."

*

"You're going to start dating Bill."

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

She couldn't be hurt, they had agreed, and she was seeing the psycho-analyst. She'd never told Katherine it was Bill's child. Katherine had never asked; Giselle assumed she knew.

"Jennifer would uh- disapprove," Giselle managed.

"I told him no students."

Giselle shrugged. "Your mistake."

"What do you know that I don't?" When Giselle didn't answer, Katherine pressed, "Giselle?"

She laughed, "Oh, you know ... I mean he and I had a thing. Over the summer. And you know ..." She let her voice trail off before laughing again, "I need a cigarette."

"Was he the ...?"

"Oh please! Katherine!"

In her long list of regrets, she wondered where that one would eventually fall.

*

Katherine Watson defied all expectations Giselle had set. Yes, she had this thing with Bill, but she had a thing with Giselle as well. She always had her window unlocked, for Giselle. Giselle's roommates all thought she was seriously fucking the psycho-analyst. Oh, if they could only know her reality ...

"You smell like Bill."

"You smell like musk and vanilla."

"Let's change all that, shall we?"

Katherine fell back on the bed in a fit of giggles. Giselle followed, hair already unpinned and flowing.

The bed still squeaked and every time it did they rolled over, held their breaths, waited for any noise from the hall.

Giselle's etiquette teacher either didn't notice, didn't mind, or genuinely didn't hear.

Giselle liked to pretend it was the latter.

*

"You're not going to stay." It was a comment, hardly a suggestion.

Katherine frowned. "That's hardly fair."

"We both know it's true." Giselle held her cigarette away from herself and hoped it had come out in an offhand way. Katherine Watson was amazing, simply amazing, but right now, Giselle was hurt. And acting stupid to cover it up.

"You never told me what happened after Betty-"

"Do you think I'm a slut?"

"Giselle!"

"Well, am I?" Her fingers twisted at the nape of Katherine's neck. Such was the way they fought, until one of them turned to sex. Most of the time Giselle initiated. Katherine didn't seem to mind.

Giselle's fingers danced down Katherine's near naked body, trailing kisses after. She kissed her belly button, hesitated before grinning and burrowing her head further down.

*

Katherine Watson, the most amazing woman Giselle had ever met, had set sail for London and left behind, in her wake, a letter, written with green ink on expensive parchment.

"What's yours say?" Joan grinned, trying to snatch the letter.

"Ooo, I wanna read yours!" Connie squealed, also reaching for it.

"Stop! Stop! You'll crush it!"

"Alright. I'll read mine if you read yours," Joan compromised.

After a shrug, Giselle agreed.

She would read everything but the post-script; she would mention everything but the ticket that had come tucked inside the folds of the letter. _Giselle_ , the post-script read, _come visit me. I know we left things abruptly, but now that you've graduated, there's no reason we can't have a relationship. It's an open ticket- I'll be in London for at least the next six months. If you don't come, let me give you one parting thought- you have the unique ability to make people feel free; I hope that what ever you choose to do with your life utilizes this. With all my love, Katherine Watson._


End file.
